Becky was offered the chance to take part in a “kimono fashion show” as part of an event at a local community center. She was a member of a mock bridal party who got on stage in under kimonos. Then a kimono teacher and her students demonstrated the laborious process of applying layer after layer of fabric until they were ready for a Japanese wedding.
Most of the models were members of the Miki International Association, or MIA. The bride and groom were actually celebrating their anniversary. They are from Argentina, and they moved to Miki two years ago. The groom was born in Argentina, but his parents were Japanese. Like many Japanese born abroad, he learned a substantial amount of spoken Japanese from his family but very little kanji, the complex Chinese characters used in writing. He and I are actually learning kanji together in the MIA’s free Japanese classes.
Becky was clearly the prettiest girl on stage! Although they knew she was married, they had her wear a long-sleeved kimono, which is normally only worn by single women. I took a video of most of the elaborate dressing. It wasn’t exactly a race, but the kimono students were trying to get their models dressed as quickly and precisely as possible. I recorded for about six minutes until my arm got too tired to hold up the camera any more! It went on for a couple more minutes afterward. The video is embedded below. Keep in mind that there is no pay off at the end. It’s just wrapping and wrapping and wrapping! I also shot the video in portrait mode, so pardon the black bars on the left and right. Enjoy!
First of all, I love Becky's hair! It's so cute and if you don't look at her face, she looks Japanese. Very pretty kimono she was given, but I was imagine getting one of my hot flashes while being wrapped and I had to stop watching the video!
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